Protection of Private Property Resolution

by the National Convention – April 2012 – Nashville, Tennessee

Whereas, John Locke, in his Second Essay Concerning Civil Government wrote: “The supreme power cannot take from any man any part of his property without his own consent. For the preservation of property being the end of government, and that for which men enter into society, it necessarily supposes and requires that the people should have property, without which they must be supposed to lose that [property] by entering into society, which was the end for which they entered into it.”, and

Whereas, Sir William Blackstone, writing in his Commentaries on the Laws of England regarding the essential elements of liberty wrote: “And these may be reduced to three principle of primary articles; the right of personal security, the right of personal liberty; and the right of private property . . .”, and

Whereas, Sir William Blackstone also wrote: “The third absolute right . . . is that of property: which consists in the free use, enjoyment, and disposal of all his acquisitions, without any control or diminution…”, and

Whereas, Sir William Blackstone also wrote: “So great moreover is the regard of the law for private property, that it will not authorize the least violation of it; no, not even for the general good of the whole community.”, and

Whereas, American Founding Father John Adams wrote: “All men are born free and independent, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights, among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.”, and

Whereas, John Adams also wrote: “The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. . . Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist.”, and

Whereas, the “Father of the United States Constitution,” James Madison, wrote: “Government is instituted to protect property of every sort…. This being the end of government, that alone is not a just government, … nor is property secure under it, where the property which a man has in his personal safety and personal liberty is violated by arbitrary seizures of one class of citizens for the service of the rest.”, and

Whereas, this perspective on the importance of preserving the essential right of private property was vouchsafed in the United States Constitution, Amendment V: “No person shall…be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”, and

Whereas, the antithesis of this “Americanist” principle of the right and control of property is found in the scurrilous philosophies of Marx’s Communist Manifesto, and

Whereas, numerous actions which foster the destruction of the essential element of ownership and control of private property are currently fostered within the United States through actions such as improper use of eminent domain in cases in which due process is not preserved, and under justification never considered by the American Founders as valid purposes for which seizures might be made with just compensation; confiscatory fines and penalties in violation of the Eighth Amendment; tax seizures; socialistic processes by which private property is seized and redistributed by government action, etc.,

Therefore be it resolved, that the Constitution Party deplores the egregious private property rights violations which are occurring under the judiciary, executive, and legislative branches of the United States Government, and

Be it further resolved, that the Constitution Party strongly encourages a complete return to the founding principles regarding private property upon which this nation was established.